After a patient data sharing deal came to light between Google and Ascension Health, the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) says the federal government needs to update the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to allow patients to opt in—not opt out—in such arrangements and to outlaw coercive consent forms.
CCHF president and co-founder Twila Brase sent a letter December 6, 2019 to Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), detailing why the law should be revised. The letter says HIPPA is too permissive and, along with Electronic Medical Records (EHRs), “establishes unconsented access” to private medical records.
CCHF sent the letter days after a November 2019 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report about a data sharing agreement between Google and Ascension Health, a large private health organization. Ascension Health will transfer the data in question, including patient names and private medical records of approximately 50 million people from 21 states, to Google through March.
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This is an excerpt from a previously published article.
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